parentshiftbook Chapter 2050 Natural Disasters and the Hunt
Chapter 2050 Natural Disasters and the Hunt
“Yes, Senior Brother Yue. It would be troublesome if he were to mingle in the first three levels, where there are many people and many eyes.” A tall, thin disciple next to Yue Qianshan said.
"Now he's so arrogant, constantly venturing deeper into the remote Kun Abyss in order to improve his ranking... Heh, that makes our next arrangements much simpler."
With a wave of his hand, Yue Qianshan sent the three figures back into faint phantoms, disappearing one after another into the spatial vortex leading to the fifth level of the Kun Abyss.
Just after the three pursuers completely disappeared into the vortex, the air rippled slightly on the rock wall, which was only a dozen feet away from where they had just stood.
The next moment, a figure dressed in a flowing light blue fairy dress, with a graceful figure but exuding a chilling aura, appeared silently, like a solidified reflection in water.
It was Cao Feiyu!
Her face was covered with an unyielding frost, and her beautiful eyes were as cold as ancient ice, staring intently at the still-rotating spatial vortex in front of her, and the empty rocky ground beside the vortex.
Her divine sense was incredibly powerful. Although the three people had used sophisticated concealment techniques, they were nowhere to hide from her, a powerful expert in the Tai Cang Realm.
She had long known that this Kunyuan Trial would definitely bring other troubles for Chen Fei.
The interests involved with Chen Fei were too great for many fifteenth-level cultivators. Therefore, not long after Chen Fei left Cuiping Peak, she quietly followed him. Relying on her Tai Cang Realm cultivation and control over space, she fell far behind.
Without further hesitation, Cao Feiyu moved, transforming into an almost invisible pale blue streak of light, and followed closely behind, stepping into the fifth level of the Kun Abyss.
With her absolute strength, which was a whole realm higher than hers, Cao Feiyu maintained a delicate distance from Chen Fei and the three pursuers ahead, ensuring that she would not be detected while still having a clear grasp of the overall situation.
She followed silently all the way through the fifth level of the Kun Abyss, where the demonic energy was even more violent and the strength of the active monsters was generally at the mid-to-late stage of the fifteenth rank.
They entered the sixth level of the Kun Abyss, where the environment became increasingly bizarre, and spatial rifts were as ubiquitous as the background.
Finally, at the end of a canyon in the sixth level of Kunyuan, where the demonic energy was so dense that it could not be dissolved, Cao Feiyu saw Chen Fei's figure. He stopped in front of a huge spatial entrance that was constantly collapsing inward and exuding a chilling aura.
That's the entrance to the seventh level of the Kun Abyss!
Looking at the dark and deep entrance ahead, Cao Feiyu couldn't help but frown.
She didn't understand that the sixth level of the Kun Abyss was already the limit that most fifteenth-level disciples participating in the trial could withstand.
The monsters appearing here are at the late stage or even peak of the fifteenth rank, making this a more than sufficient trial ground for any disciple aiming for the top thirty.
Here, as long as you have enough strength and are careful, you will definitely reap a lot of rewards.
Why should Chen Fei continue to venture deeper into the even more dangerous seventh level of the Kun Abyss, which has already begun to threaten the very edge of the Tai Cang Realm? It's completely unnecessary!
Of course, Cao Feiyu also knew that the Kunyuan at the seventh level and above was so rich in demonic energy that it could not only give birth to even more powerful demons, but also give birth to some rare and precious natural treasures that were extremely valuable to cultivators in certain extreme areas.
For example, the Profound Yin Demon Lotus can temper the physical body and enhance one's foundation; the Soul-Eating Nether Crystal contains pure soul power; or the Nine Nether Cold Iron can be used to refine high-level magic weapons.
These items are priceless and unavailable in the outside world.
Moreover, upon reaching the seventh level of the Kun Abyss, the monsters' intelligence will increase, and they will begin to exhibit a more pronounced sense of territory, instead of wandering aimlessly in groups like they do in the outer areas.
For cultivators with sufficient strength, as long as they avoid those who are clearly invincible, the efficiency and quality of their gains there are indeed higher than in the middle level of Kun Abyss.
However, in Cao Feiyu's opinion, Chen Fei should have a clear understanding of her current situation.
He not only had to face the dangers of Kunyuan itself, but also had to be constantly on guard against the sneak attacks from his fellow disciples from behind!
In this situation, venturing deeper into the remote Kunlun Mountains is tantamount to deliberately entering a more isolated and vulnerable place where it is easier for others to take advantage of you, and where it is even harder to get outside help!
Even though Chen Fei had already demonstrated formidable combat prowess in previous duels, there were still many opponents stronger than him in this Kunyuan Trial.
Cao Feiyu watched Chen Fei's retreating figure, her heart filled with a mixture of doubt and worry.
She glanced at the three pursuers, who were also lurking not far away. Cao Feiyu wanted to capture and interrogate them all, but the sect rules stipulated that in the Kunyuan Trial, those in the Tai Cang Realm were absolutely forbidden from attacking fifteenth-level disciples.
No matter the reason, no matter the excuse, it's all forbidden!
If discovered, they will be severely punished; it is common for them to be sentenced to guard the Xu Ning Abyss for a thousand years.
Moreover, the three disciples hadn't yet attacked Chen Fei; they were merely following behind. Cao Feiyu couldn't act out of suspicion. Unless Cao Feiyu was willing to interrogate them before killing them outright.
However, such behavior is seriously inconsistent with Cao Feiyu's Daoist heart.
Cao Feiyu took a deep breath, suppressing the chaotic thoughts in her mind, and watched as Chen Fei and the three others disappeared.
Cao Feiyu concealed her aura and was about to follow Chen Fei and the others into the dark entrance leading to the seventh level of Kun Abyss.
"Junior Sister Cao, wait!" A gentle voice rang out unexpectedly from a distance.
The space rippled slightly, and a middle-aged cultivator dressed in a blue Taoist robe, with a slender face, three long wisps of beard, and gentle eyes, appeared out of thin air in front of Cao Feiyu, blocking her path.
The man had a faint smile on his face and looked at Cao Feiyu calmly.
Cao Feiyu stopped abruptly. Upon seeing who it was, the coldness on her face softened slightly. She bowed to the middle-aged cultivator and said in a clear, cold voice, "So it's Senior Brother Zhao."
This senior brother Zhao, named Zhao Qingyuan, is one of the elders of the Taicang Realm responsible for patrolling Kunyuan during this trial. He has profound cultivation, acts justly, and enjoys a high reputation within the sect.
Zhao Qingyuan nodded slightly, glanced at the dark entrance not far from Cao Feiyu, and said slowly, "Junior Sister Cao, according to the sect's rules, you, the true self, cannot enter the seventh level of Kunyuan."
His tone was calm, but his eyes were serious.
Cao Feiyu paused almost imperceptibly, but quickly nodded and said in a low voice, "Don't worry, Senior Brother Zhao, I understand this principle."
The biggest difference between cultivators in the Tai Cang Realm and those at or below the fifteenth level lies in the fact that they have already begun to control a Dao Domain of their own. This Dao Domain is deeply bound to the cultivator's own cultivation techniques, Dao foundation, and understanding of rules, serving as an extension and amplification of their power.
The concentration of demonic energy and the chaotic and violent rules contained within the seventh level and above of the Kun Abyss have reached an extremely terrifying level, almost forming a kind of abyssal domain with strong exclusivity.
Once a cultivator from the Tai Cang Realm steps into it, the Dao Domain they carry will be like a red-hot iron thrown into ice water. The two completely different and inherently opposing domain forces will inevitably rub, collide, repel, and erode each other.
For cultivators in the Tai Cang Realm, such a collision would greatly deplete their Yuan Power and mental energy, and the even more terrifying consequence would be its impact on Kun Yuan itself.
The friction between the Tai Cang Realm Dao Domain and the Abyss Domain is likely to disrupt and damage the relatively fragile spatial structure and demonic energy balance of Kunyuan.
If significant damage is caused, it may open or widen certain passages leading to the deeper Flood Abyss, causing even purer and more terrifying Flood Abyss demonic energy to flow back in.
At that time, not only will the danger level of this Kunyuan branch rise sharply, potentially giving rise to stronger demons and demonic cultivators, but it may even trigger a chain reaction, threatening the overall defense line set up by Danchen Sect around Xu Ning Yuan.
This is why the Danchen Sect established a rule that, except in special circumstances such as emergency rescue or clearing out specific targets, cultivators of the Tai Cang Realm are not allowed to enter the Kun Abyss at the seventh level or above in their true form.
Even elders like Zhao Qingyuan, who were responsible for guarding and patrolling, only monitored from the outside or conducted limited investigations through special means.
Despite its immense power, the Dan Chen Sect has been unable to completely eradicate the Kun Abyss. Besides the difficulty in eliminating the root of demonic energy, which is constantly regenerating, the unique limitations imposed by the Kun Abyss above the seventh level are also a significant reason for this.
After Cao Feiyu finished speaking, she placed her hands in front of her chest, and her fingers formed a series of complex and mysterious hand seals like butterflies flitting among flowers.
As she moved, the immense Yuan Power of the Tai Cang Realm around her began to fluctuate, contract, and condense rapidly. Streams of azure light were drawn from her body and quickly condensed in front of her.
In less than a few breaths, an avatar that bore an eight or nine-tenths resemblance to Cao Feiyu's true form, but whose aura was only at the limit of the fifteenth level, solidified and stood quietly.
This avatar has a cool and aloof appearance, bright and lively eyes, and is in tune with the original body. It possesses some of Cao Feiyu's combat experience and supernatural abilities, but its only limitation is that its strength is suppressed to the extreme of the fifteenth level.
"Go!" Cao Feiyu herself shouted softly, pointing her finger toward the dark entrance ahead.
Without hesitation, the azure avatar transformed into a streak of light and instantly plunged into the entrance of the seventh level of the Kun Abyss, disappearing from sight, while Cao Feiyu's true form remained in place.
As soon as Cao Feiyu's avatar stepped into the seventh level of Kun Abyss, before she could even adapt to the dense demonic energy and the even more violent spatial turbulence, the scene before her made her brows furrow tightly.
It wasn't the bizarre terrain or lurking monsters one might imagine, but rather an overwhelming, boundless expanse of pitch-black demonic mist.
This demonic mist is different from ordinary demonic fog. As it rolls, it emits the buzzing of billions of insects flapping their wings. Upon closer inspection, it is clearly a terrifying tide formed by countless fingernail-sized, pitch-black demonic locusts that shimmer with eerie green light, densely packed together.
The Demonic Mist Tide.
This is one of the natural disasters that occasionally occur in the abyss environment. It is usually caused by a large-scale migration of some kind of demonic insect race or by stimulation from special demonic energy fluctuations.
Stretching for countless miles, it devours and engulfs all living things, even rocks and demonic energy, turning them into nourishment for its growth.
A single demonized locust might only be equivalent to a thirteenth or fourteenth-level cultivator, which is insignificant to a fifteenth-level cultivator.
However, when their numbers reach hundreds of millions, forming tides, and in the special environment of Kunlun, the qualitative change caused by this quantitative change becomes extremely terrifying.
The chaotic demonic intent, collective mental impact, and relentless, all-pervasive devouring power carried by the tides are enough to make any fifteenth-level cultivator's scalp tingle.
If Cao Feiyu herself were here, with the power of the Dao Domain of the Tai Cang Realm, she could naturally forcefully create a pure land, or even use a wide-range divine power to annihilate this tide of demonic mist.
However, for her avatar, which was suppressed to the limit of the fifteenth rank, the only option in the face of a demonic mist tide of this scale was to minimize her own presence and wait for the tide to pass.
If one is accidentally caught up in it, or attracts the attention of the swarm of locusts, even if one can kill millions, one will be corrupted by the endless swarm of locusts and the accompanying demonic intent, eventually dying from exhaustion and having one's body collapse.
What made Cao Feiyu's heart sink even more was that in this overwhelming tide of demonic mist that blocked out the sun and severely suppressed both her divine sense and vision, she instantly lost all contact with Chen Fei ahead and the Dan Chen Sect disciples who were following her.
Amidst the surging demonic mist, Chen Fei raised his head, gazing at the terrifying tide that surged forward like a black tsunami. His calm demeanor was replaced by a hint of surprise.
He hadn't expected that he would encounter such a large-scale natural disaster just after entering the seventh level of the Kun Abyss and before he could even gain a foothold.
This is the Abyss of Demonic Energy, this is the Kunyuan Trial.
The danger comes not only from tangible demons and demonic cultivators, but also from the unpredictable and malicious environment itself; no one can predict what they will encounter next.
This is why, every time the Kunyuan Trial is held, even though every disciple makes thorough preparations and brings all the necessary pills, talismans, and magical treasures, there are always a large number of injuries and deaths.
Some were due to insufficient strength, some to bad luck, but most were defeated by these unpredictable environmental changes.
Faced with the oncoming tide of demonic mist, Chen Fei quickly concealed all his aura.
"Om..."
Suddenly, an irregular spatial fluctuation arose from the depths of the demonic mist tide. This fluctuation was exceptionally strong, as if the entire space was being forcefully kneaded and torn apart by an invisible hand.
In places like Kunyuan, where space is inherently unstable, the best approach when encountering naturally occurring large-scale spatial fluctuations is not to attempt to resist them.
This fluctuation is often a spontaneous balance of abyssal energy, part of the flow of demonic energy, or an external manifestation of a change in the spatial structure.
If one tries to resist and stabilize the surrounding space by relying solely on one's own strength, it will cause even more intense spatial ripples and turbulence, and may even lead to the collapse of local space.
The spatial collapse will further trigger a violent collapse and eruption of demonic energy, forming a natural attack that far exceeds what a fifteenth-level cultivator can resist: the spatial annihilation storm.
Therefore, the best course of action is to go with the flow and let the spatial fluctuations take you wherever they want. Although the destination is unknown, it's better than facing immediate spatial annihilation.
Chen Fei did not resist; his body was instantly engulfed by the powerful spatial ripples.
In a dizzying spin, the surrounding magical mist, rock walls, and all the scenery transformed into shimmering, distorted lines.
This feeling lasted for about three or four breaths. As the fluctuations in the surrounding space gradually subsided, Chen Fei found himself standing in a completely unfamiliar place.
No longer were the overwhelming swarms of demonic mist locusts overhead; all around were the typical abyss landscape of jagged rocks, bubbling sulfur swamps, and in the distance, a mountain range that stretched out like the spine of a giant beast.
Chen Fei released his divine sense, and the three tails that had been clinging to his back like a persistent leech had completely disappeared.
It seems that during that sudden surge of demonic mist and spatial fluctuations, they were either scattered to different places or remained in the same spot.
Chen Fei stood still, pondered for a moment, and then sensed the jade pendant at his waist.
On the leaderboard, Chen Fei's ranking had dropped below one thousandth due to his focus on traveling, and it was still declining. After all, the other disciples' hunting on the outskirts had never stopped.
"The first thirty... sixteenth-tier low-grade spiritual materials..." Chen Fei's lips twitched slightly. "Alright, let's start from here."
Chen Fei didn't linger. With a blur, he sped towards the nearest area emanating a strong demonic aura. Now that he was in the seventh level of the Kun Abyss, the quality of the demons here was even higher, making it a perfect place to quickly accumulate merit.
The monsters of the seventh level of Kun Abyss are indeed far superior in strength and intelligence to those of the outer areas. As soon as Chen Fei approached that area, before he could even discern what kind of monster was lurking there, a fierce and violent aura suddenly locked onto him.
"squeak!"
A sharp, piercing scream, seemingly capable of penetrating the soul, rang out.
The next moment, a small mountain in front of them suddenly moved. It turned out to be a giant, demonized black rat with the size of a mountain and eyes as red as two blood moons.
Its aura had already reached the late stage of the fifteenth level. The saliva dripping from the corner of its mouth corroded the rocks beneath its feet, making a hissing sound, revealing a huge mouth with gleaming white fangs.
Almost the instant Chen Fei was locked onto, the black rat monster appeared in front of him. It opened its enormous maw, which emitted a foul and corrosive odor, and bit down on Chen Fei.
The puppet appeared in front of Chen Fei, its arms suddenly stretched forward, and the runes on its arms lit up, flowed, and condensed.
In an instant, a gigantic sword aura of destruction, tens of feet long and with destructive spatial ripples flowing along its edges, solidified between the puppet's arms.
Before the sword energy was even moved, the ultimate intent to annihilate and destroy everything had already soared into the sky.
"Qiang!"
The destructive sword energy flashed by so fast that it was almost impossible for the naked eye and divine sense to catch its trajectory, leaving only a thin, hair-like, yet solid and persistent, pitch-black spatial crack in the air.
The next moment, the massive black rat monster that had pounced forward suddenly froze, and a straight, thin line extending from the top of its head to the end of its tailbone appeared.
"puff!"
Thick, viscous, blackish-red demonic blood, exuding a foul stench and intense demonic energy, shot into the sky. The black rat monster let out a deafening roar of pain as its body was cleanly cleaved in two by this sword strike.
However, the vitality and adaptability of late-stage 15th-tier monsters in the abyss are terrifying.
The two halves of the body were ripped apart, and the flesh at the wounds writhed wildly as a massive amount of demonic energy surged in, frantically pouring into the wounds. In just two or three breaths, this horrific injury would rapidly heal under the nourishment of the dense demonic energy.
A flicker of fear flashed in the black rat monster's crimson eyes. Its two halves erupted from their respective halves, each releasing a dense cloud of black mist, and it scattered and fled. (End of Chapter)